Legal battle looms over Fourchon beachfront

A legal battle looms over the public’s right to access — and drive on — Fourchon Beach and Lafourche Parish’s right to develop the area into a tourist destination.

Xerxes Wilson Staff Writer

A legal battle looms over the public’s right to access — and drive on — Fourchon Beach and Lafourche Parish’s right to develop the area into a tourist destination.The beach is owned by the Caillouet Land Co. and the Wisner Donation, a private land trust. It has long been off limits to vehicles and sporadically closed to pedestrians.The parish, through the Beachfront Development Commission, has engaged in long-running negotiations with the Caillouet Land Co. in attempt to get full-public access to the beach.The Lafourche Parish Council recently set aside $275,000 to begin the legal process known as expropriation. Expropriation is when property owners are forced to sell land at fair-market value to the government for public use.The conflict centers upon a 44-acre tract owned by Caillouet. The development commission, chaired by Ricky Cheramie, wants to buy the land to give the public full access to the beach, allow the public to drive on the beach and to build a pavilion, RV park and pier at the site.Cheramie said the one road that goes to the beach doesn’t give the public full access to the beach, which stretches 10 miles.“If you have just walking it, it eliminates the ability for the handicap people, the elderly and many children to go out there,” he said.Cheramie said the commission also wants to build an RV park, pavilion and pier to make the beach a tourist and vacation destination to rival nearby Grand Isle.The Caillouets have been unwilling to sell but said they are open to a mutually beneficial outcome, not expropriation.“The property is not for sale, and if there is any attempt to try to take that property, we can assure you that Caillouet Land will bring on a very messy and lengthy legal battle,” said Jay Caillouet at a recent Parish Council meeting.The process of expropriation would allow parish government to take control of the land by paying the Caillouets the appraised value.An appraisal from Craig E. Stanga, a Thibodaux-based land appraiser, valued the 44-acre beachfront at $275,000, Cheramie said.The Development Commission will make a formal offer to the Caillouets of the appraised value. Given Caillouet’s comments at the recent council meeting, it is expected the owners will reject that offer as they feel the appraisal was far too low.“We strongly feel that property is worth much, much more than the $275,000 that is being offered for,” Caillouet said. The land company did not return phone-calls seeking to discuss its valuation of the property. “We believe the right to development should be done by private companies and not to have the parish try to take development risk,” Caillouet said. “Generating profit is not the purpose of local government.”When and if the offer is rejected, Cheramie said, the battle over the land’s value will move into court and a judge will rule on the value of the land. Cheramie said he feels the valuation of the property is fair given the difficulty facing land development in the nearby flood-zone and wetland.